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kindleandilluminate's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a fan of this series, which in general I find to be charming, fast-paced, relatively tightly-woven mysteries with a surprising and gratifying amount of attention to historical accuracy. Unfortunately, When Maidens Mourn did not quite live up to the standard of its six predecessors. The solution comes out of left field, and the red herrings are not dealt with nearly as tidily as Harris usually manages, and the result is disappointingly unsatisfying.
bee26's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tita_noir's review against another edition
4.0
The continuing character development and personal relationships arc in this installment of the series gets a solid A. The mystery gets a tepid C.
I'll start with what I liked first. I love Sebastian and Hero together. He has always been the elegant, dangerous, larger than life protagonist who dominates the attention so well in this series and that hasn't changed. I am firmly on Sebastian's side no matter what -- I root for him, I want him to bitch-slap his stupid sister, and I so much want him and his (non)father Herndon to kiss and make up because I think despite it all, they have come to kinda love one another.
Hero, of course, didn't appear in the series until a bit later, but even when she did, I knew she'd be a good foil/match for Sebastian. She's cool, confident and just as dangerous -- albeit in a much chillier way-- as Sebastian is.
So the fact that these two are married, and negotiating the delicate balance between their strong personalities and their new, somewhat awkward union is a great road that this book travels. They like each other, they enjoy having sex with each other, but they are still very independent people.
During the course of the book, they each investigate the murder of Gabrielle Tennyson separately. Sebastian does so because it is now his avocation, but Hero does because Gabrielle was her friend. And Hero suspects her father is somehow involved. The reader watches the parallel investigations unfold and witnesses as both Sebastian and Hero discover key pieces of information that they don't share with each other until much later in the book because they are not used to this 'other person' in their life and they are both still struggling with trust issues.
But the book ends nicely on their personal front because they do come to an understanding that they are beginning to enjoy a regard for each other and they want to make their marriage work.
Another great forward momentum piece of personal revelation is that Sebastian gets yet another piece in the puzzle of his mother's disappearance and the possible identity of his biological father. He meets a person who might hold a clue. It remains to be seen if this person is a friend or foe, but it is a fascinating new character who despite myself I find as intriguing as Sebastian himself.
If there is one main character whose personal arc I am still unsatisfied with it would be Jarvis, Hero's super powerful Machiavellian father. Right now, I find his omnipotence makes for a flat character. We've seen at least a small glimpse of every other character's vulnerability. I want to see his. It could be Hero, I suppose. But the way his character is written I can't be to sure of that. It seems to me that he is prepared for Hero to be collateral damage if the time comes that he really has to destroy Sebastian.
On the plot side of things, I didn't find the mystery as satisfying. The victim is a friend of Hero's who is an ardent antiquarian blue-stocking and is killed on what is purported to be the modern day site of the mythical Camelot. I think much of my frustration with the mystery is that 90% of it is all Macguffin. Sebastian and Hero do an awful lot of investigation and meet a lot of potential murderers and yet the final solution of the mystery has pretty much nothing to do with what all the stuff they actually investigated. I wish the mystery was more clever than it was.
But as I said, the characters, more than the mystery plot, were the strength in this outing.
I think readers of this series will really enjoy this one.
I'll start with what I liked first. I love Sebastian and Hero together. He has always been the elegant, dangerous, larger than life protagonist who dominates the attention so well in this series and that hasn't changed. I am firmly on Sebastian's side no matter what -- I root for him, I want him to bitch-slap his stupid sister, and I so much want him and his (non)father Herndon to kiss and make up because I think despite it all, they have come to kinda love one another.
Hero, of course, didn't appear in the series until a bit later, but even when she did, I knew she'd be a good foil/match for Sebastian. She's cool, confident and just as dangerous -- albeit in a much chillier way-- as Sebastian is.
So the fact that these two are married, and negotiating the delicate balance between their strong personalities and their new, somewhat awkward union is a great road that this book travels. They like each other, they enjoy having sex with each other, but they are still very independent people.
During the course of the book, they each investigate the murder of Gabrielle Tennyson separately. Sebastian does so because it is now his avocation, but Hero does because Gabrielle was her friend. And Hero suspects her father is somehow involved. The reader watches the parallel investigations unfold and witnesses as both Sebastian and Hero discover key pieces of information that they don't share with each other until much later in the book because they are not used to this 'other person' in their life and they are both still struggling with trust issues.
But the book ends nicely on their personal front because they do come to an understanding that they are beginning to enjoy a regard for each other and they want to make their marriage work.
Another great forward momentum piece of personal revelation is that Sebastian gets yet another piece in the puzzle of his mother's disappearance and the possible identity of his biological father. He meets a person who might hold a clue. It remains to be seen if this person is a friend or foe, but it is a fascinating new character who despite myself I find as intriguing as Sebastian himself.
If there is one main character whose personal arc I am still unsatisfied with it would be Jarvis, Hero's super powerful Machiavellian father. Right now, I find his omnipotence makes for a flat character. We've seen at least a small glimpse of every other character's vulnerability. I want to see his. It could be Hero, I suppose. But the way his character is written I can't be to sure of that. It seems to me that he is prepared for Hero to be collateral damage if the time comes that he really has to destroy Sebastian.
On the plot side of things, I didn't find the mystery as satisfying. The victim is a friend of Hero's who is an ardent antiquarian blue-stocking and is killed on what is purported to be the modern day site of the mythical Camelot. I think much of my frustration with the mystery is that 90% of it is all Macguffin. Sebastian and Hero do an awful lot of investigation and meet a lot of potential murderers and yet the final solution of the mystery has pretty much nothing to do with what all the stuff they actually investigated. I wish the mystery was more clever than it was.
But as I said, the characters, more than the mystery plot, were the strength in this outing.
I think readers of this series will really enjoy this one.
vicki_s's review against another edition
5.0
This author is so repetitive sometimes. In this book everyone's nostrils kept flaring! Still. I love the relationships enough that I keep reading. They advance so slowly. *grumble*
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
In book six, Devlin had finally persuaded Hero, the soon-to-be mother of his child, to marry him. Of course, Hero, being the strong-willed young woman she is, made the match for reasons of her own. Now the two are working on just what their marriage will be...and just how much they really mean to each other. They plan to escape the heat of London and spend their honeymoon in the country when Gabrielle Tennyson, one of Hero's friends, is found stabbed to death at an antiquary dig at Camlet Moat. Gabrielle firmly believed that Camlet Moat was the site of the original Camelot--the background source for the Arthur legends.
Her work as an antiquary riled her male colleagues, but were they upset enough to resort to murder? Or is there a deeper plot afoot? When it is discovered that Gabrielle's two young nephews are also missing, it begins to look like there's more than scholarly jealous at work. Hero and Sebastian each take an interest in the case--sometimes working at cross-purposes and never fully confiding in each other. Especially when circumstances involve Hero's father, Lord Jarvis (sworn enemy to Devlin) or Sebastian needs to consult his former lover, Kat Boleyn, about French spies. But the information they gather will need to be pooled if they are to discover the killer before it's too late for the boys. They may also learn some uncomfortable secrets about Lord Jarvis and Sebastian's past along the way.
Harris has given us another fine historical mystery. I've enjoyed watching the relationship between Hero and Sebastian grow and look forward to seeing where it goes next. The mystery aspect is really well done with a good range of suspects and red herrings to keep the reader occupied and looking for the culprit. I also liked the way she brought in Arthurian legend as well as the family of the (later) Poet Laureate of England, Alfred Lord Tennyson, though she did take some liberties with the number of family members. It was a nice change to get away from the more politically charged plotline and delve into one with a more literary background. A highly enjoyable read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Her work as an antiquary riled her male colleagues, but were they upset enough to resort to murder? Or is there a deeper plot afoot? When it is discovered that Gabrielle's two young nephews are also missing, it begins to look like there's more than scholarly jealous at work. Hero and Sebastian each take an interest in the case--sometimes working at cross-purposes and never fully confiding in each other. Especially when circumstances involve Hero's father, Lord Jarvis (sworn enemy to Devlin) or Sebastian needs to consult his former lover, Kat Boleyn, about French spies. But the information they gather will need to be pooled if they are to discover the killer before it's too late for the boys. They may also learn some uncomfortable secrets about Lord Jarvis and Sebastian's past along the way.
Harris has given us another fine historical mystery. I've enjoyed watching the relationship between Hero and Sebastian grow and look forward to seeing where it goes next. The mystery aspect is really well done with a good range of suspects and red herrings to keep the reader occupied and looking for the culprit. I also liked the way she brought in Arthurian legend as well as the family of the (later) Poet Laureate of England, Alfred Lord Tennyson, though she did take some liberties with the number of family members. It was a nice change to get away from the more politically charged plotline and delve into one with a more literary background. A highly enjoyable read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
gawronma's review against another edition
4.0
Another excellent read by one of my favorite authors. Harris has developed a wonderful series of characters with complicated lives. The mystery was entertaining. The action sequences suspense filled. Sebastian and his friends have complicated lives.
abbythompson's review against another edition
4.0
C.S. Harris gives hungry readers another great installment of Sebastian St. Cyr and his new wife, Lady Hero Devlin. Though keeping with the dark and gritty, Harris takes some interesting turns in this book that didn't always play out well, or make a lot of sense.
The mystery is exceptionally well-plotted for most of the book ... until the very end. Quite a bit of time is spent exploring the various Arthurian legends of England and it's tight-knit relationship to the current (Regency) time period. Compounding this is the secondary family to the first victim is the Tennyson family ... of Alfred, Lord Tenneyson and the Lady of Shalott fame. As a fan of this poem (thank you Anne of Green Gables!), I loved the intertwined stories and the glimpse into the Tennyson family. However, I was VERY surprised at the ending and the who-dun-it, because it came clear out of nowhere and had nothing at all to do with the leads Harris had been developing. The politics and Arthurian legends are dropped ... never mentioned again ... and the mystery is wrapped up by a very weird and awkward Deus ex Machina.
I am also SO SICK of Kat Boelyn. She can be the next victim for all I care. Though when Sebastian finally has his big "DUH" moment, I cheered. Hero is such a better match for him, and it was gut-wrenchingly painful to watch their mutual secrets drive a wedge between them. Hero and Sebastian aren't over as a couple though! And the end of the book had me cheering out loud.
If you like historical mysteries and haven't checked out this series yet, please do! I promise you'll like it!
The mystery is exceptionally well-plotted for most of the book ... until the very end. Quite a bit of time is spent exploring the various Arthurian legends of England and it's tight-knit relationship to the current (Regency) time period. Compounding this is the secondary family to the first victim is the Tennyson family ... of Alfred, Lord Tenneyson and the Lady of Shalott fame. As a fan of this poem (thank you Anne of Green Gables!), I loved the intertwined stories and the glimpse into the Tennyson family. However, I was VERY surprised at the ending and the who-dun-it, because it came clear out of nowhere and had nothing at all to do with the leads Harris had been developing. The politics and Arthurian legends are dropped ... never mentioned again ... and the mystery is wrapped up by a very weird and awkward Deus ex Machina.
I am also SO SICK of Kat Boelyn. She can be the next victim for all I care. Though when Sebastian finally has his big "DUH" moment, I cheered. Hero is such a better match for him, and it was gut-wrenchingly painful to watch their mutual secrets drive a wedge between them. Hero and Sebastian aren't over as a couple though! And the end of the book had me cheering out loud.
If you like historical mysteries and haven't checked out this series yet, please do! I promise you'll like it!